HeraldSun.com.au
DANNY Green has retained his IBO cruiserweight world title with a round three knockout of Puerto Rican Manny Siaca at Challenge Stadium in Perth on Wednesday night.
Green started the opening round strongly, landing some meaningful blows and continued in a similar fashion in the second, when he knocked Siaca down with a powerful right hook.
The 34-year-old stayed on one knee for several seconds and after getting to his feet, weathered a late flurry from Green before being saved by the bell.
But he couldn't keep out the West Australian's flurry of punches in the third round after being trapped in the corner.
Siaca wore three more right hooks from Green before hitting the deck once again with less than a minute remaining in the round.
Once again he stayed down for several seconds in a bid to regain his composure but was counted out by the referee.
Green has now defeated Anthony van Niekerk, Julio Cesar Dominguez, Roy Jones Jr and Siaca since coming out of retirement early last year.
It improved Green's record to 29 wins from 32 bouts, with 26 knockouts.
Siaca's win-loss record slipped to 22-7.
"I hit him early," Green said.
"He took about 20 or 30 uppercuts and he felt the power and was intimated by it.
"He didn't want to know about it.
"I'm stoked, I'm rapt.
"All I can do is defeat who's in front of me. Whoever feels my power is going to go.
"I'm frustrated because I wanted to go 12 rounds to punish Manny.
"I would have loved to have given you guys a better show but unfortunately when you have power like that you can't (make it last longer).
"It feels fantastic, I'm stoked."
It was just Siaca's seventh fight since defeating Anthony Mundine in 2004 to snare the WBA World super middleweight title.
Siaca complained several times about being hit on the top of the head but it fell on deaf ears.
Source: heraldsun.com.au
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
'I'm old school, Haye would be a simple fight,' says Holyfield -- The Independent
Independent.co.uk
It was the most disturbing and remarkable win in a career that has never been short of "did that just happen?" moments. On Saturday night, at the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas, Evander Holyfield recorded his 43rd win as a professional boxer to claim the WBF heavyweight title. And so the man who famously fought with Mike Tyson twice (his opponent taking a bite out of his ear in the second bout), and Lennox Lewis another two times, became a world champion at 47 years of age.
Holyfield refuses to throw in the towel and take up a position behind a microphone. It was a simple victory, over fellow veteran South Africa's Frans Botha, himself 41, fighting on "the retirement circuit". But there is no safe retreat in the brutal business of boxing for old men – no veterans' "friendlies". Instead, the latest turn in the story of Holyfield, who first won the world heavyweight title in 1990, has confirmed his place at the top of a tragic and often tainted heap of recent American heavyweights.
"I'm back, back in the heavyweight business and ready to fight any of the champions," said Holyfield, whose visits to hospital in victory and defeat have become legend. "I look at the champions and I know ways to beat them. I'm from the old school and they are not. David Haye would be a simple fight for me." It is possible, incredibly, that the two may yet fight.
Holyfield is the only active boxer to have fought the old 15-round distance, which he had to do in his first world title fight back in 1986. For the record he was just 23 and having his 12th fight when he won a split a decision over Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the World Boxing Association cruiserweight title. It was a brutal fight and both boxers ended up in hospital needing time to recover from the savagery.
At present it is possible to argue with some force that there are just three Americans in the top 20 heavyweights and the trio are not much to write home about. There is Tony "Tiger" Thompson, Chris Arreola and "Fast" Eddie Chambers and they have all been knocked out by one of the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali. Thompson lost every round against Vitali before jumping on the floor in the 11th round in 2008, Chambers never threw a punch at Wladimir and collapsed in the 12th a few months ago, and Arreola survived 10 against Vitali but never won a round last year.
Yet the truth is that Holyfield is more marketable at his age because there is no talent coming through in America. But even now, in the American media following the fight at the weekend, there are growing calls for him to stop. "Holyfield once was a true warrior and champion," said Colin Linneweber of the website Bleacher Report. "Now, 'The Real Deal' is everything that is wrong with boxing and he is making a mockery out of his legacy." The Las Vegas Review-Journal called Saturday's fight "a geriatric wrestling match".
Holyfield has never really been far from the top during the last 20 years and in late 2008 he travelled to Switzerland to fight Nikolai Valuev for the WBA heavyweight title. He came close, dropping a majority decision; less than 12 months later Haye beat Valuev by split decision to win the title. Holyfield, in many ways, showed Haye how to beat the Russian giant. The Briton admitted as much after his safety-first victory.
Holyfield has been involved in a world heavyweight fight in 14 of the last 20 years and some of his 19 title fights are recognised as the best of all generations of heavyweights. His trio with Riddick Bowe in the early 1990s, which included the night in Las Vegas when the "Fan Man" parachuted into the ring and was knocked unconscious by Bowe's henchmen, is the best triple in history. The final Bowe fight was particularly brutal, with both on the floor before Bowe won in round five. A few years later Bowe was made to retire because of brain damage he was meant to have suffered. After the Bowe hat-trick Holyfield was winning and losing world titles in epic scraps with Tyson and Lewis when Bowe had long since retired.
"I knew that I could beat Tyson," Holyfield said again and again. "Lennox was much harder." Holyfield and Tyson had come close to blows during an amateur training camp before the 1984 Olympics when it is claimed that Holyfield got in Tyson's face and forced the bully to back down. In the ring 12 years later Holyfield did the same thing and broke Tyson's heart in the first fight. In the rematch, known forever now as "The Bite of the Century", Holyfield took more than Tyson's heart, he took his dignity and forced him to foul his way to permanent ignominy. Holyfield was back in hospital, $30m (£19.5m) richer and part of his severed ear was stuffed in ice. I saw the pair embrace a few years ago and remember catching Tyson eyeing the gap in Holyfield's ear. Tyson insists that Holyfield was the best man he ever fought. Holyfield, a sometime Christian preacher, refuses to accuse.
The two Lewis fights were simple toe-to-toe encounters and both results divided the fans. The first was a draw in Madison Square Garden and when we sat for the return eight months later in Las Vegas I was reminded of just how big a world heavyweight championship fight could and should be. America was watching, Vegas stopped and the two walked to the centre of the ring. It was 1999 and the old magic was back; it was a fight for the history boys and it was also the last really great heavyweight title fight to take place involving an American in America.
Holyfield is still flying that damaged American flag and there is nobody on the American boxing horizon to take it from his clenched fists.
Too many champions: Heavyweight headache
Wladimir Klitschko The world No 1 is WBO, IBF, IBO and The Ring magazine champion.
David Haye The British WBA champion has covincingly won all four of his heavyweight bouts.
Vitali Klitschko The 6ft 7in Ukrainian has held the WBC belt since 2004.
Evander Holyfield At the age of 47 the "Real Deal" became the oldest boxer to win a heavyweight title in history on Saturday when he won the lightly-regarded WBF belt.
Sheldon Hinton The Canadian, holder of the minor WBB strap is currently ranked 204th in the world.
Hector Ferreyro Won the IBC title in March, beating Arron Lyons.
It was the most disturbing and remarkable win in a career that has never been short of "did that just happen?" moments. On Saturday night, at the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas, Evander Holyfield recorded his 43rd win as a professional boxer to claim the WBF heavyweight title. And so the man who famously fought with Mike Tyson twice (his opponent taking a bite out of his ear in the second bout), and Lennox Lewis another two times, became a world champion at 47 years of age.
Holyfield refuses to throw in the towel and take up a position behind a microphone. It was a simple victory, over fellow veteran South Africa's Frans Botha, himself 41, fighting on "the retirement circuit". But there is no safe retreat in the brutal business of boxing for old men – no veterans' "friendlies". Instead, the latest turn in the story of Holyfield, who first won the world heavyweight title in 1990, has confirmed his place at the top of a tragic and often tainted heap of recent American heavyweights.
"I'm back, back in the heavyweight business and ready to fight any of the champions," said Holyfield, whose visits to hospital in victory and defeat have become legend. "I look at the champions and I know ways to beat them. I'm from the old school and they are not. David Haye would be a simple fight for me." It is possible, incredibly, that the two may yet fight.
Holyfield is the only active boxer to have fought the old 15-round distance, which he had to do in his first world title fight back in 1986. For the record he was just 23 and having his 12th fight when he won a split a decision over Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the World Boxing Association cruiserweight title. It was a brutal fight and both boxers ended up in hospital needing time to recover from the savagery.
At present it is possible to argue with some force that there are just three Americans in the top 20 heavyweights and the trio are not much to write home about. There is Tony "Tiger" Thompson, Chris Arreola and "Fast" Eddie Chambers and they have all been knocked out by one of the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali. Thompson lost every round against Vitali before jumping on the floor in the 11th round in 2008, Chambers never threw a punch at Wladimir and collapsed in the 12th a few months ago, and Arreola survived 10 against Vitali but never won a round last year.
Yet the truth is that Holyfield is more marketable at his age because there is no talent coming through in America. But even now, in the American media following the fight at the weekend, there are growing calls for him to stop. "Holyfield once was a true warrior and champion," said Colin Linneweber of the website Bleacher Report. "Now, 'The Real Deal' is everything that is wrong with boxing and he is making a mockery out of his legacy." The Las Vegas Review-Journal called Saturday's fight "a geriatric wrestling match".
Holyfield has never really been far from the top during the last 20 years and in late 2008 he travelled to Switzerland to fight Nikolai Valuev for the WBA heavyweight title. He came close, dropping a majority decision; less than 12 months later Haye beat Valuev by split decision to win the title. Holyfield, in many ways, showed Haye how to beat the Russian giant. The Briton admitted as much after his safety-first victory.
Holyfield has been involved in a world heavyweight fight in 14 of the last 20 years and some of his 19 title fights are recognised as the best of all generations of heavyweights. His trio with Riddick Bowe in the early 1990s, which included the night in Las Vegas when the "Fan Man" parachuted into the ring and was knocked unconscious by Bowe's henchmen, is the best triple in history. The final Bowe fight was particularly brutal, with both on the floor before Bowe won in round five. A few years later Bowe was made to retire because of brain damage he was meant to have suffered. After the Bowe hat-trick Holyfield was winning and losing world titles in epic scraps with Tyson and Lewis when Bowe had long since retired.
"I knew that I could beat Tyson," Holyfield said again and again. "Lennox was much harder." Holyfield and Tyson had come close to blows during an amateur training camp before the 1984 Olympics when it is claimed that Holyfield got in Tyson's face and forced the bully to back down. In the ring 12 years later Holyfield did the same thing and broke Tyson's heart in the first fight. In the rematch, known forever now as "The Bite of the Century", Holyfield took more than Tyson's heart, he took his dignity and forced him to foul his way to permanent ignominy. Holyfield was back in hospital, $30m (£19.5m) richer and part of his severed ear was stuffed in ice. I saw the pair embrace a few years ago and remember catching Tyson eyeing the gap in Holyfield's ear. Tyson insists that Holyfield was the best man he ever fought. Holyfield, a sometime Christian preacher, refuses to accuse.
The two Lewis fights were simple toe-to-toe encounters and both results divided the fans. The first was a draw in Madison Square Garden and when we sat for the return eight months later in Las Vegas I was reminded of just how big a world heavyweight championship fight could and should be. America was watching, Vegas stopped and the two walked to the centre of the ring. It was 1999 and the old magic was back; it was a fight for the history boys and it was also the last really great heavyweight title fight to take place involving an American in America.
Holyfield is still flying that damaged American flag and there is nobody on the American boxing horizon to take it from his clenched fists.
Too many champions: Heavyweight headache
Wladimir Klitschko The world No 1 is WBO, IBF, IBO and The Ring magazine champion.
David Haye The British WBA champion has covincingly won all four of his heavyweight bouts.
Vitali Klitschko The 6ft 7in Ukrainian has held the WBC belt since 2004.
Evander Holyfield At the age of 47 the "Real Deal" became the oldest boxer to win a heavyweight title in history on Saturday when he won the lightly-regarded WBF belt.
Sheldon Hinton The Canadian, holder of the minor WBB strap is currently ranked 204th in the world.
Hector Ferreyro Won the IBC title in March, beating Arron Lyons.
Police to blitz Danny Green fight -- West Australian
By GABRIELLE KNOWLES, The West Australian
WA police have promised to blitz tonight's Danny Green-Manny Siaca IBO cruiserweight bout, with outlaw motorcycle gang members and other "persons of interest" expected among the sell out crowd.
The promoters of tonight's title fight at Challenge Stadium have given police access to the names of VIP ticket holders - every one of whom must pass through a metal detector or be refused entry.
Fans in regular seating in the stands will not automatically be subjected to walk-through metal detectors, but police may target individual fans with hand-held wands.
A "considerable" police presence will patrol crowds inside and outside the venue.
A security crackdown at Green's fight against Anthony van Niekerk at Challenge Stadium 12 months ago saw lengthy delays as patrons queued for hours to pass the security checkpoints.
Organisers and police hope to avoid a repeat by doubling the number of stadium entrances to six. No weapons were detected at last year's bout.
Acting Insp. Vic Hussey said police had identified bikie gang members and "people of interest" from the Eastern States among those who had bought tickets on the ringside VIP tables, but he refused to name them.
"They are the most likely people to be screened," he said.
Outlaw motocycle gang insignia is banned at the bout and Acting Insp. Hussey promised to refuse entry to anyone who wore bikie colours or refused a metal detector search.
Acting Insp. Hussey refused to say exactly how many officers would police the expected 5000-strong crowd but said "considerable police resources" had been allocated to the fight, including officers from the gang crime squad.
Rejecting claims from the Green camp that last years police operation was "overkill", Acting Insp. Hussey said police were taking precautions to ensure everybody could enjoy the fight.
"We're expecting tonight to go along peacefully. That's what we're hoping for, but we're planning for any eventualities," he said.
He said police had no information to suggest there would be any trouble and would not say which bikie gangs police believe will be present.
Source: au.news.yahoo.com
WA police have promised to blitz tonight's Danny Green-Manny Siaca IBO cruiserweight bout, with outlaw motorcycle gang members and other "persons of interest" expected among the sell out crowd.
The promoters of tonight's title fight at Challenge Stadium have given police access to the names of VIP ticket holders - every one of whom must pass through a metal detector or be refused entry.
Fans in regular seating in the stands will not automatically be subjected to walk-through metal detectors, but police may target individual fans with hand-held wands.
A "considerable" police presence will patrol crowds inside and outside the venue.
A security crackdown at Green's fight against Anthony van Niekerk at Challenge Stadium 12 months ago saw lengthy delays as patrons queued for hours to pass the security checkpoints.
Organisers and police hope to avoid a repeat by doubling the number of stadium entrances to six. No weapons were detected at last year's bout.
Acting Insp. Vic Hussey said police had identified bikie gang members and "people of interest" from the Eastern States among those who had bought tickets on the ringside VIP tables, but he refused to name them.
"They are the most likely people to be screened," he said.
Outlaw motocycle gang insignia is banned at the bout and Acting Insp. Hussey promised to refuse entry to anyone who wore bikie colours or refused a metal detector search.
Acting Insp. Hussey refused to say exactly how many officers would police the expected 5000-strong crowd but said "considerable police resources" had been allocated to the fight, including officers from the gang crime squad.
Rejecting claims from the Green camp that last years police operation was "overkill", Acting Insp. Hussey said police were taking precautions to ensure everybody could enjoy the fight.
"We're expecting tonight to go along peacefully. That's what we're hoping for, but we're planning for any eventualities," he said.
He said police had no information to suggest there would be any trouble and would not say which bikie gangs police believe will be present.
Source: au.news.yahoo.com
Notebook: Mosley ignores Mayweather's comments, trainer doesn't -- The Ring
By Michael Rosenthal, The Ring
PASADENA, Calif. – A reporter asked Shane Mosley as he had his hands wrapped during a media workout Monday morning at a martial-arts gym what he thought of the nasty comments Floyd Mayweather Jr. directed his way on HBO’s 24/7 series.
Mosley looked up and grinned. He wasn’t about to get sucked into a tit-for-tat exchange with his acid-tongued opponent on May 1 in Las Vegas. His focus is on winning the biggest fight of his career. Besides, it’s not his nature to bite back outside the ring.
He let his trainer, Naazim Richardson, do the biting for him.
“Shane is being the human being he was raised to be; Floyd is being the human being that he is,” said Richardson, who then made a reference to the woman handling Mayweather’s pubic relations, Kelly Swanson. “ … Kelly can dress me up and put me on TV. Kelly can have me do a raffle to help children and all that. The minute Kelly walks away, though, that ass---- that I am is going to come back out because that’s who I am.”
Mosley, who made the two-hour trip from his training camp in Big Bear, really doesn’t care what Mayweather has to say.
“I don’t even know what he said,” Mosley said. “It doesn’t matter. My job is to focus on May 1. No, that doesn’t motivate me. My motivation comes from wanting to be the best. … All the other stuff just gets in the way of the main goal.”
Mosley’s father and former trainer, Jack Mosley, suggested it might behoove his son to be more provocative because of its marketing value. It seems to have worked for Mayweather, who is probably the best-known American fighter.
Mosley said it isn’t going to happen.
“Everybody has his own personality,” he said. “I don’t really put on a façade. I’m not going to run my mouth just to run it. It has to have some meaning behind it. … That’s just (Mayweather) promoting the fight or something. When I say something, you know I mean it.”
Fed up: I suggested to Richardson that Antonio Margarito, who Mosley knocked out in January of last year, was the perfect opponent for him. He was relatively slow and there to be hit.
“He came right to him,” I said and then Richardson interrupted. “Like he came to everybody else? He came right to (Miguel) Cotto. How’d that work out?”
Damn good point.
“You have to go back into a time capsule for a second,” he continued. “How many people were saying Margarito’s style was perfect for Shane before they fought? It’s not like people were looking at that fight and saying Shane was going to do this or that to him. When I went to camp with Shane, I told him, ‘The people who believe you’re going to win, I want to surprise them with the way you win.’ They thought he’d win by decision.
“That’s why we fight the fights. How many people here picked Buster Douglas (to beat Mike Tyson)?”
Where would a victory over Mayweather rank among Mosley’s accomplishments?
“This fight may be more important,” said Richardson, referring to May 1. “Margarito was the most-dangerous fight of Shane Mosley’s life. Margarito was changing people’s lifestyles, changing the way you talk to your children. We’re not facing that kind of danger now. I don’t take Mayweather lightly, though.”
Some people suggest that Mayweather won’t be able to handle Mosley’s considerable power. Richardson’s isn’t counting on that.
He said he and Mosley must train as if Mayweather has the best chin in boxing and be able to find other ways to beat him. However, he says it in a more-entertaining way.
“I’ve said it several times before and I’ll say it again: I expect Shane to come out and hit Mayweather in the mouth with a right hand,” he said. “Mayweather will sprout wings and a tail and turn into a dragon. I tell Shane to step away from his fireballs, step on his tail and punch him in the stomach and get him out of there.
“We’re prepared for anything that comes.”
OK.
Drug testing: Mosley said he’s been tested four times as part of the Olympic-style drug-testing program the fighters agreed upon.
“I think it’s been four times already,” he said, “two blood and four urine. They just said, ‘Are you ready to test?’ I said, ‘OK.’ They came at 11 (a.m.), 12, not during crazy hours or anything. I guess they’re trying not to disrupt training.”
Mosley, who admitted to taking steroids inadvertently before he fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2003, said he wouldn’t insist upon Olympic-style testing if he were to beat Mayweather and open negotiations to fight Manny Pacquiao.
“I don’t even want to deal with that type of stuff,” he said. “If the commission or whatever wants that type of testing, I’ll do it. If not, whatever. I’m just ready to fight.”
Mosley said he is contracted to give Mayweather a rematch if he wins on May 1.
First-hand knowledge: Talented young prospect Karl Dargan, another fighter of Richardson’s, has sparred with Mosley during this training camp. He said Mosley looks very sharp.
“He looks like he always does,” Dargan said. “Even though he’s had a year off since his last fight, a year and some change, he always stays in shape. Even when he doesn’t have a fight coming up, he’s training. The sharpness never really goes anywhere. I don’t think rust will play a role at all.”
Dargan said one thing that might surprise onlookers is the transformation Mosley undergoes once he steps through the ropes for sparring.
“Outside the ring, he gives you this smile and everything,” he said. “He’s a nice dude, a nice guy. Once he steps into the ring, though, he has a whole different demeanor. It’s a different story in the ring.”
He turns into a monster?
“Exactly,” Dargan said.
PPV record breaker? Some knowledgeable observers are predicting that Mayweather-Mosley will draw around 1.5 million pay-per-view buys.
The ever-optimistic Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, is thinking bigger than that. He has his eye on the all-time record of 2.4 million for Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.
“I always say records are made to be broken,” he said. “I really want to beat the 2.5-million-home mark. We still have three weeks to go before the fight. We’ll start seeing our campaigns kicking in. And HBO is supporting it in a big way with it’s 24/7.”
The slogan for the fight is: “Who R U Picking?” Golden Boy even has a Web Site with that name: whorupicking.com, at which fans can make their picks.
The idea is to get prospective pay-per-view customers engaged.
“We want to get America talking,” Schaefer said. “Who are you picking? I think once people are engaged they’re going to want to buy the pay per view because they want to see if they picked the right guy. That’s the idea behind the concept.”
Many people scoffed when Schaefer predicted Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez would draw 1 million buys and it exceeded that mark. A record-breaking night on May 1 is REALLY optimistic, though.
Hopkins-Jones Jr. PPV: Schaefer said the pay-per-view tally for the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones Jr. fight on April 3 is at about 130,000 but is expected to approach 150,000 after all the figures are in.
Golden Boy set 300,000 as its goal. However, some experts wondered whether it would exceed 100,000, which Schaefer said was overly pessimistic.
“They ARE two big names,” he said.
Source: ringtv.com
PASADENA, Calif. – A reporter asked Shane Mosley as he had his hands wrapped during a media workout Monday morning at a martial-arts gym what he thought of the nasty comments Floyd Mayweather Jr. directed his way on HBO’s 24/7 series.
Mosley looked up and grinned. He wasn’t about to get sucked into a tit-for-tat exchange with his acid-tongued opponent on May 1 in Las Vegas. His focus is on winning the biggest fight of his career. Besides, it’s not his nature to bite back outside the ring.
He let his trainer, Naazim Richardson, do the biting for him.
“Shane is being the human being he was raised to be; Floyd is being the human being that he is,” said Richardson, who then made a reference to the woman handling Mayweather’s pubic relations, Kelly Swanson. “ … Kelly can dress me up and put me on TV. Kelly can have me do a raffle to help children and all that. The minute Kelly walks away, though, that ass---- that I am is going to come back out because that’s who I am.”
Mosley, who made the two-hour trip from his training camp in Big Bear, really doesn’t care what Mayweather has to say.
“I don’t even know what he said,” Mosley said. “It doesn’t matter. My job is to focus on May 1. No, that doesn’t motivate me. My motivation comes from wanting to be the best. … All the other stuff just gets in the way of the main goal.”
Mosley’s father and former trainer, Jack Mosley, suggested it might behoove his son to be more provocative because of its marketing value. It seems to have worked for Mayweather, who is probably the best-known American fighter.
Mosley said it isn’t going to happen.
“Everybody has his own personality,” he said. “I don’t really put on a façade. I’m not going to run my mouth just to run it. It has to have some meaning behind it. … That’s just (Mayweather) promoting the fight or something. When I say something, you know I mean it.”
Fed up: I suggested to Richardson that Antonio Margarito, who Mosley knocked out in January of last year, was the perfect opponent for him. He was relatively slow and there to be hit.
“He came right to him,” I said and then Richardson interrupted. “Like he came to everybody else? He came right to (Miguel) Cotto. How’d that work out?”
Damn good point.
“You have to go back into a time capsule for a second,” he continued. “How many people were saying Margarito’s style was perfect for Shane before they fought? It’s not like people were looking at that fight and saying Shane was going to do this or that to him. When I went to camp with Shane, I told him, ‘The people who believe you’re going to win, I want to surprise them with the way you win.’ They thought he’d win by decision.
“That’s why we fight the fights. How many people here picked Buster Douglas (to beat Mike Tyson)?”
Where would a victory over Mayweather rank among Mosley’s accomplishments?
“This fight may be more important,” said Richardson, referring to May 1. “Margarito was the most-dangerous fight of Shane Mosley’s life. Margarito was changing people’s lifestyles, changing the way you talk to your children. We’re not facing that kind of danger now. I don’t take Mayweather lightly, though.”
Some people suggest that Mayweather won’t be able to handle Mosley’s considerable power. Richardson’s isn’t counting on that.
He said he and Mosley must train as if Mayweather has the best chin in boxing and be able to find other ways to beat him. However, he says it in a more-entertaining way.
“I’ve said it several times before and I’ll say it again: I expect Shane to come out and hit Mayweather in the mouth with a right hand,” he said. “Mayweather will sprout wings and a tail and turn into a dragon. I tell Shane to step away from his fireballs, step on his tail and punch him in the stomach and get him out of there.
“We’re prepared for anything that comes.”
OK.
Drug testing: Mosley said he’s been tested four times as part of the Olympic-style drug-testing program the fighters agreed upon.
“I think it’s been four times already,” he said, “two blood and four urine. They just said, ‘Are you ready to test?’ I said, ‘OK.’ They came at 11 (a.m.), 12, not during crazy hours or anything. I guess they’re trying not to disrupt training.”
Mosley, who admitted to taking steroids inadvertently before he fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2003, said he wouldn’t insist upon Olympic-style testing if he were to beat Mayweather and open negotiations to fight Manny Pacquiao.
“I don’t even want to deal with that type of stuff,” he said. “If the commission or whatever wants that type of testing, I’ll do it. If not, whatever. I’m just ready to fight.”
Mosley said he is contracted to give Mayweather a rematch if he wins on May 1.
First-hand knowledge: Talented young prospect Karl Dargan, another fighter of Richardson’s, has sparred with Mosley during this training camp. He said Mosley looks very sharp.
“He looks like he always does,” Dargan said. “Even though he’s had a year off since his last fight, a year and some change, he always stays in shape. Even when he doesn’t have a fight coming up, he’s training. The sharpness never really goes anywhere. I don’t think rust will play a role at all.”
Dargan said one thing that might surprise onlookers is the transformation Mosley undergoes once he steps through the ropes for sparring.
“Outside the ring, he gives you this smile and everything,” he said. “He’s a nice dude, a nice guy. Once he steps into the ring, though, he has a whole different demeanor. It’s a different story in the ring.”
He turns into a monster?
“Exactly,” Dargan said.
PPV record breaker? Some knowledgeable observers are predicting that Mayweather-Mosley will draw around 1.5 million pay-per-view buys.
The ever-optimistic Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, is thinking bigger than that. He has his eye on the all-time record of 2.4 million for Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.
“I always say records are made to be broken,” he said. “I really want to beat the 2.5-million-home mark. We still have three weeks to go before the fight. We’ll start seeing our campaigns kicking in. And HBO is supporting it in a big way with it’s 24/7.”
The slogan for the fight is: “Who R U Picking?” Golden Boy even has a Web Site with that name: whorupicking.com, at which fans can make their picks.
The idea is to get prospective pay-per-view customers engaged.
“We want to get America talking,” Schaefer said. “Who are you picking? I think once people are engaged they’re going to want to buy the pay per view because they want to see if they picked the right guy. That’s the idea behind the concept.”
Many people scoffed when Schaefer predicted Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez would draw 1 million buys and it exceeded that mark. A record-breaking night on May 1 is REALLY optimistic, though.
Hopkins-Jones Jr. PPV: Schaefer said the pay-per-view tally for the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones Jr. fight on April 3 is at about 130,000 but is expected to approach 150,000 after all the figures are in.
Golden Boy set 300,000 as its goal. However, some experts wondered whether it would exceed 100,000, which Schaefer said was overly pessimistic.
“They ARE two big names,” he said.
Source: ringtv.com
Examining the Pound for Pound: Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather JR or Other? -- Ringside Report
By Daniel “Tex” Cohen, RingsideReport.com
We, as people, require categories to live our lives. Americans tend to divide into Democrats and Republicans. The weather outside may range through a theoretically infinite number of degrees, but we still generalize with the terms “hot” and “cold.”
So too does this happen in Boxing. Obviously, the Pound for Pound concept has a tremendous amount of flaws. Yet we still cling to the concept with the clinginess of a college girlfriend.
For all of our belief that we can pinpoint truth in a list or a diagram, our lists and categories often fail. If models and lists were perfect, the banking collapse would have been foreseeable. Sometimes, intuition and guts are the key to pinpointing who should belong at the top of the food chain and why.
This is not to say that the Pound for Pound List is utterly subjective, as a few of my colleagues have claimed. Rather, Pound for Pound lists are supposed to capture the ten best fighters in the world based on specific criteria. Those criteria can change, but they have to be based on whatever is BEST. Pound for Pound lists are NOT about stylistic preferences. Preference is for the car you drive, the city you live in, and the career you choose. Being the “best” is not a preference.
To that end, I have a very, VERY hard time seeing how ANYONE can discount Manny Pacquiao as the Pound for Pound Champion of the world. Emotions often run high when it comes to sports (especially Boxing), but Manny’s resume is the real deal, a long list of hurt game beatings against an awfully tough motley crew of fisticuff artists.
That said, I understand that I’m not immune to emotions, either. I can lose my cool, blow my top, or get down on anyone just like everyone else in the world. And if that’s the case, there is a possibility that I am (GASP!) wrong.
Rather than peg a Pound for Pound winner on a weekly basis, it might make more sense for us to understand the Pound for Pound mindset. To start that little investigation, I draw your attention to the unofficially dominant Pound for Pound list at the legendary Ring Magazine:
1. Manny Pacquiao
2.Floyd Mayweather, JR
3.Shane Mosley
4.Juan Manuel Marquez
5.Nonito Donaire
6.Bernard Hopkins
7.Miguel Cotto
8.Chad Dawson
9.Paul Williams
10.Celestino Caballero
My initial reaction to the Ring list is that it seems to take a comprehensive approach to the rankings. While the list is mostly grizzled veterans who have earned their dues in the fight game, there are a few exceptions overall. The list also excludes anyone who weighs less than a lightweight.
The major criticism to be made of the Ring List (aside from the absence of little men) is that it inflates Nonito Donaire. I happen to like Donaire, but a top five Pound for Pound slot is a hard case to make. If Floyd Mayweather, JR., were designing the list, we all know he would want Donaire off the chart because of his solitary loss.
In fact, Mayweather’s list might look something like this:
1.Floyd Mayweather, JR
2.Ivan Calderon
3.Timothy Bradley
4.Chad Dawson
5.Andre Berto
6.Devon Alexander
7.Andre Ward
8.Carl Froch
9.Yuri Foreman
10.Vanes Martirosyan
Ok, I exaggerated a bit there. However, that joke of a list tells you several important pieces of information. First of all, the top of the list has some pretty good fighters that might b getting served a raw deal. Second, an undefeated record only goes so far when the victories have come against weak opposition. Those ten fighters might be the ten best undefeated boxers in the whole world, but the makeup of the chart is rather unorthodox. Most of those fighters box, but they don’t box the same. We have a few jabbers, a few defensive specialists, a volume puncher or two, and a couple of all –around finishers.
The problem with focusing on defeat counts can run intellectually deep. Anyone who knows anything about Boxing realizes that level of opposition is as important or more important than record in determining greatness and status. Boxing is a sport of moments. A black swan greatly affects the dynamic of a body of work. Undefeated club fighters are usually destroyed when they finally fight someone worthy of recognition.
If we were making P4P List based on level of opposition, we might get something like this:
1.Manny Pacquiao
2.Miguel Cotto
3.Kelly Pavlik
4.Timothy Bradley
5.Paul Williams
6.Vic Darchinyan
7.Juan Manuel Marquez
8.Shane Mosley
9.Antonio Margarito
10.Joshua Clottey
I don’t like that list at first look. I think those are tremendous fighters and are all certainly top 25-50 in the world today, but there are some very important names left off the list and some fighters that appear to have gotten far too much credit. As much as I like Kelly Pavlik, he’s not higher than Shane Mosley.
Then again, shouldn’t a guy get credit for going through packs like this at high speeds?
Mosley hasn’t fought in thirteen months. We haven’t seen Mayweather since September. To give you an idea of how significant that is, Ali Funeka has had three fights since the beginning of last year, while Mayweather and Mosley have had one apiece. Vitali Klitschko has gotten in three bouts.
Here’s a list for those that prefer consistent, significant victories over legitimate opposition:
1. Juan Manuel Lopez
2.Andre Ward
3.Tomasz Adamek
4.Robert Guerrero
5.Wladimir Klitschko
6.Vitali Klitschko
7.Jean Pascal
8.Yuriorkas Gamboa
9.Vanes Martirosyan
10.Kermit Cintron
Some of those guys don’t even belong on the list. Most of the elite fighters in the world take two very important fights in a given year, not three or four. In spite of that, you can still see some top notch fighters heading up the list. We can also see what separates “good” from “great.” Also, we are beginning to see a picture of fringe P4P contenders and why they achieve such a status.
What is not surprising is that these lists tend to focus on balance fight plans rather than power-heavy ones. There are barely any brutes on any of the lists. You might find that strange if you think knockouts are the name of the game, but they’re not. Overall dominance is the important view of Pound for Pounders.
If mathematical power (knockouts) were the main consideration for a P4P List, here’s what we would get:
1.Vitali Klitschko
2.Wladimir Klitschko
3.David Haye
4.Edwin Valero
5.Shane Mosley
6.Marcos Maidana
7.Yuriorkas Gamboa
8.Israel Vazquez
9.Arthur Abraham
10.Antonio Margarito
Some, of course have suspicions about where Antonio Margarito get his power, but that’s a story for a different article.
Source: ringsidereport.com
We, as people, require categories to live our lives. Americans tend to divide into Democrats and Republicans. The weather outside may range through a theoretically infinite number of degrees, but we still generalize with the terms “hot” and “cold.”
So too does this happen in Boxing. Obviously, the Pound for Pound concept has a tremendous amount of flaws. Yet we still cling to the concept with the clinginess of a college girlfriend.
For all of our belief that we can pinpoint truth in a list or a diagram, our lists and categories often fail. If models and lists were perfect, the banking collapse would have been foreseeable. Sometimes, intuition and guts are the key to pinpointing who should belong at the top of the food chain and why.
This is not to say that the Pound for Pound List is utterly subjective, as a few of my colleagues have claimed. Rather, Pound for Pound lists are supposed to capture the ten best fighters in the world based on specific criteria. Those criteria can change, but they have to be based on whatever is BEST. Pound for Pound lists are NOT about stylistic preferences. Preference is for the car you drive, the city you live in, and the career you choose. Being the “best” is not a preference.
To that end, I have a very, VERY hard time seeing how ANYONE can discount Manny Pacquiao as the Pound for Pound Champion of the world. Emotions often run high when it comes to sports (especially Boxing), but Manny’s resume is the real deal, a long list of hurt game beatings against an awfully tough motley crew of fisticuff artists.
That said, I understand that I’m not immune to emotions, either. I can lose my cool, blow my top, or get down on anyone just like everyone else in the world. And if that’s the case, there is a possibility that I am (GASP!) wrong.
Rather than peg a Pound for Pound winner on a weekly basis, it might make more sense for us to understand the Pound for Pound mindset. To start that little investigation, I draw your attention to the unofficially dominant Pound for Pound list at the legendary Ring Magazine:
1. Manny Pacquiao
2.Floyd Mayweather, JR
3.Shane Mosley
4.Juan Manuel Marquez
5.Nonito Donaire
6.Bernard Hopkins
7.Miguel Cotto
8.Chad Dawson
9.Paul Williams
10.Celestino Caballero
My initial reaction to the Ring list is that it seems to take a comprehensive approach to the rankings. While the list is mostly grizzled veterans who have earned their dues in the fight game, there are a few exceptions overall. The list also excludes anyone who weighs less than a lightweight.
The major criticism to be made of the Ring List (aside from the absence of little men) is that it inflates Nonito Donaire. I happen to like Donaire, but a top five Pound for Pound slot is a hard case to make. If Floyd Mayweather, JR., were designing the list, we all know he would want Donaire off the chart because of his solitary loss.
In fact, Mayweather’s list might look something like this:
1.Floyd Mayweather, JR
2.Ivan Calderon
3.Timothy Bradley
4.Chad Dawson
5.Andre Berto
6.Devon Alexander
7.Andre Ward
8.Carl Froch
9.Yuri Foreman
10.Vanes Martirosyan
Ok, I exaggerated a bit there. However, that joke of a list tells you several important pieces of information. First of all, the top of the list has some pretty good fighters that might b getting served a raw deal. Second, an undefeated record only goes so far when the victories have come against weak opposition. Those ten fighters might be the ten best undefeated boxers in the whole world, but the makeup of the chart is rather unorthodox. Most of those fighters box, but they don’t box the same. We have a few jabbers, a few defensive specialists, a volume puncher or two, and a couple of all –around finishers.
The problem with focusing on defeat counts can run intellectually deep. Anyone who knows anything about Boxing realizes that level of opposition is as important or more important than record in determining greatness and status. Boxing is a sport of moments. A black swan greatly affects the dynamic of a body of work. Undefeated club fighters are usually destroyed when they finally fight someone worthy of recognition.
If we were making P4P List based on level of opposition, we might get something like this:
1.Manny Pacquiao
2.Miguel Cotto
3.Kelly Pavlik
4.Timothy Bradley
5.Paul Williams
6.Vic Darchinyan
7.Juan Manuel Marquez
8.Shane Mosley
9.Antonio Margarito
10.Joshua Clottey
I don’t like that list at first look. I think those are tremendous fighters and are all certainly top 25-50 in the world today, but there are some very important names left off the list and some fighters that appear to have gotten far too much credit. As much as I like Kelly Pavlik, he’s not higher than Shane Mosley.
Then again, shouldn’t a guy get credit for going through packs like this at high speeds?
Mosley hasn’t fought in thirteen months. We haven’t seen Mayweather since September. To give you an idea of how significant that is, Ali Funeka has had three fights since the beginning of last year, while Mayweather and Mosley have had one apiece. Vitali Klitschko has gotten in three bouts.
Here’s a list for those that prefer consistent, significant victories over legitimate opposition:
1. Juan Manuel Lopez
2.Andre Ward
3.Tomasz Adamek
4.Robert Guerrero
5.Wladimir Klitschko
6.Vitali Klitschko
7.Jean Pascal
8.Yuriorkas Gamboa
9.Vanes Martirosyan
10.Kermit Cintron
Some of those guys don’t even belong on the list. Most of the elite fighters in the world take two very important fights in a given year, not three or four. In spite of that, you can still see some top notch fighters heading up the list. We can also see what separates “good” from “great.” Also, we are beginning to see a picture of fringe P4P contenders and why they achieve such a status.
What is not surprising is that these lists tend to focus on balance fight plans rather than power-heavy ones. There are barely any brutes on any of the lists. You might find that strange if you think knockouts are the name of the game, but they’re not. Overall dominance is the important view of Pound for Pounders.
If mathematical power (knockouts) were the main consideration for a P4P List, here’s what we would get:
1.Vitali Klitschko
2.Wladimir Klitschko
3.David Haye
4.Edwin Valero
5.Shane Mosley
6.Marcos Maidana
7.Yuriorkas Gamboa
8.Israel Vazquez
9.Arthur Abraham
10.Antonio Margarito
Some, of course have suspicions about where Antonio Margarito get his power, but that’s a story for a different article.
Source: ringsidereport.com
Will Mayweather want a rematch with Mosley if he gets brutally knocked out? -- BoxingNews24
By Dave Lahr, BoxingNews24.com
Okay, so Floyd Mayweather Jr. is taking on WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley on May 1st. We already know that Mayweather hasn’t been exactly the busiest of fighters in the past three yrears. The guy has only fought one time against Juan Manuel Marquez, who was smaller, slower and coming up in weight for the fight. Beyond that, Mayweather has been taking on other smaller fighters like Ricky Hatton and Zab Judah, and beating them on size alone.
Mayweather hasn’t had to worry about fighting a guy bigger than him and with better offensive skills like Mosley. Okay, so a lot of bad things can happen in this fight and I think things might go badly for Mayweather. So what will Mayweather do if he gets brutally knocked out by Mosley? We’re talking one of those knockouts where Mayweather would have to be taken out on a stretcher and carted to a nearby hospital.
Would Mayweather want a rematch with Mosley or would he figure it’s better off to leave it alone and go after Manny Pacquiao finally without all the random blood tests involved. Would Mayweather’s ego be able to take being knocked out? That would probably be a huge blow for him to get stretched by Mosley, because his invincibility would be shattered with one swing by Mosley. You never know how Mayweather would react to something like getting royally creamed by Mosley.
Part of me thinks that Mayweather’s sense of revenge would kick in and drive him for a rematch, but I’m not so sure. I think the fear of getting beaten up again might cause Mayweather to back off and go in another direction. It’s one thing getting knocked out once by a fighter, but a whole different matter to get brutally KO’ed a second time.
Mayweather couldn’t make excuses if he got knocked out twice in a row. That’s why I think Mayweather would figure he’d better off leaving Mosley alone and just going after Pacquiao. There wouldn’t be anything to lose at that point if Mayweather fought Pacquiao. If he lost then, it would be big deal. He already got destroyed by Mosley, so there’s no point in crying about it. But I think a knockout loss to Mosley would be a real killer for Mayweather’s ego and I think he’d have a hard time dealing with it. I could just see Mayweather looking crushed for days after a loss to Mosley. I think Mayweather might even retire rather than risk getting beaten up and knocked out again.
Source: boxingnews24.com
Okay, so Floyd Mayweather Jr. is taking on WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley on May 1st. We already know that Mayweather hasn’t been exactly the busiest of fighters in the past three yrears. The guy has only fought one time against Juan Manuel Marquez, who was smaller, slower and coming up in weight for the fight. Beyond that, Mayweather has been taking on other smaller fighters like Ricky Hatton and Zab Judah, and beating them on size alone.
Mayweather hasn’t had to worry about fighting a guy bigger than him and with better offensive skills like Mosley. Okay, so a lot of bad things can happen in this fight and I think things might go badly for Mayweather. So what will Mayweather do if he gets brutally knocked out by Mosley? We’re talking one of those knockouts where Mayweather would have to be taken out on a stretcher and carted to a nearby hospital.
Would Mayweather want a rematch with Mosley or would he figure it’s better off to leave it alone and go after Manny Pacquiao finally without all the random blood tests involved. Would Mayweather’s ego be able to take being knocked out? That would probably be a huge blow for him to get stretched by Mosley, because his invincibility would be shattered with one swing by Mosley. You never know how Mayweather would react to something like getting royally creamed by Mosley.
Part of me thinks that Mayweather’s sense of revenge would kick in and drive him for a rematch, but I’m not so sure. I think the fear of getting beaten up again might cause Mayweather to back off and go in another direction. It’s one thing getting knocked out once by a fighter, but a whole different matter to get brutally KO’ed a second time.
Mayweather couldn’t make excuses if he got knocked out twice in a row. That’s why I think Mayweather would figure he’d better off leaving Mosley alone and just going after Pacquiao. There wouldn’t be anything to lose at that point if Mayweather fought Pacquiao. If he lost then, it would be big deal. He already got destroyed by Mosley, so there’s no point in crying about it. But I think a knockout loss to Mosley would be a real killer for Mayweather’s ego and I think he’d have a hard time dealing with it. I could just see Mayweather looking crushed for days after a loss to Mosley. I think Mayweather might even retire rather than risk getting beaten up and knocked out again.
Source: boxingnews24.com
McCloskey defence in June at King’s Hall -- Belfast Telegraph
By David Kelly, Belfast Telegraph
Paul McCloskey will finally make the first defence of his European light-welterweight title on June 4 at the King’s Hall.
The unbeaten Dungiven man has been suffering from a back injury, which has delayed his mandatory defence against Italian Giuseppe Lauri but now it’s on.
The 30-year-old former British champion is hoping that victory over Lauri will push him up the world rankings as he seeks to march towards the cusp of a world title shot by the end of the year.
Veteran Lauri lost previous European title opportunities at the hands of Ted Bami and has been stopped by Junior Witter and Ricky Hatton, though he will come into the fight on the back of seven wins.
McCloskey is already ranked six by the WBC but is very keen to get a top ten rating with the WBA as he would earn a showdown with champion Amir Khan.
Meanwhile, David Haye has revealed negotiations with the Klitschko brothers will begin later this week as he seeks to unify the world heavyweight titles.
Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF and WBO champion, issued a video message taunting Britain's WBA title holder and calling for a showdown between the pair.
His older brother and WBC champion Vitali is also on Haye's radar and the Londoner confirmed yesterday that trainer and manager Adam Booth is set for talks with the Ukrainians.
Source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Paul McCloskey will finally make the first defence of his European light-welterweight title on June 4 at the King’s Hall.
The unbeaten Dungiven man has been suffering from a back injury, which has delayed his mandatory defence against Italian Giuseppe Lauri but now it’s on.
The 30-year-old former British champion is hoping that victory over Lauri will push him up the world rankings as he seeks to march towards the cusp of a world title shot by the end of the year.
Veteran Lauri lost previous European title opportunities at the hands of Ted Bami and has been stopped by Junior Witter and Ricky Hatton, though he will come into the fight on the back of seven wins.
McCloskey is already ranked six by the WBC but is very keen to get a top ten rating with the WBA as he would earn a showdown with champion Amir Khan.
Meanwhile, David Haye has revealed negotiations with the Klitschko brothers will begin later this week as he seeks to unify the world heavyweight titles.
Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF and WBO champion, issued a video message taunting Britain's WBA title holder and calling for a showdown between the pair.
His older brother and WBC champion Vitali is also on Haye's radar and the Londoner confirmed yesterday that trainer and manager Adam Booth is set for talks with the Ukrainians.
Source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Wladimir Klitschko takes off gloves talking about Haye -- Los Angeles Times
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times
We're used to the dignified, articulate Wladimir Klitschko, not the version of the world heavyweight champion who emerged Tuesday, talking about WBA heavyweight champ David Haye over lunch at a Los Angeles cafe.
"He's been nasty," Klitschko said of Haye, who has twice previously retreated from fighting both Wladimir and his brother Vitali, who also owns a heavyweight belt. "He's saying we should go fight in our mother's backyard, and that he'll fight the winner."
Klitschko proceeded to label Haye some words unfit for print, adding, "I have nothing good to say about the guy. I've told Vitali, 'Bro, this is my fight.' I don't like anything about this guy."
"To get respect, [Haye] owes it to the sport to get this fight made now," Wladimir said.
Klitschko, coming off another one-sided victory over a heavyweight, this time Eddie Chambers, who thought he could solve the 6-foot-6 Ukrainian, said he's cleared September for a bout, and that negotiations with Haye's people began Tuesday.
Haye, coming off an impressive dismantling of former champ John Ruiz, is a brash, charismatic Brit who would help liven up a division that has gone dormant during the string of Klitschko dominance.
Klitschko said he's willing to fight Haye anywhere -- Wembley Stadium or somewhere in Haye's mother country would be compelling -- and expressed willingness to embrace what he called his own "signature fight."
"I care about the sport, the fan base, the heavyweight division," Klitschko said. "To be heavyweight champion used to be the most impoortant title in the world. I don't care where we fight. I just want David Haye in front of my face. No obligations can stop him from making this fight."
Money always interferes, but Klitschko assures "there's plenty for both of us ... there's a time to talk, and a time to deliver. He's called me out. I'm holding him responsible for his actions."
Klitschko, chatting over a lunch of a chicken salad and cranberry juice, said he opted to become more vocal because"people start to believe the things this person is saying. I decided I need to get over my conservative style of handling things and bring out my real opinions. I had enough. We don't need promoters. I'm managing myself. I want this fight."
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
We're used to the dignified, articulate Wladimir Klitschko, not the version of the world heavyweight champion who emerged Tuesday, talking about WBA heavyweight champ David Haye over lunch at a Los Angeles cafe.
"He's been nasty," Klitschko said of Haye, who has twice previously retreated from fighting both Wladimir and his brother Vitali, who also owns a heavyweight belt. "He's saying we should go fight in our mother's backyard, and that he'll fight the winner."
Klitschko proceeded to label Haye some words unfit for print, adding, "I have nothing good to say about the guy. I've told Vitali, 'Bro, this is my fight.' I don't like anything about this guy."
"To get respect, [Haye] owes it to the sport to get this fight made now," Wladimir said.
Klitschko, coming off another one-sided victory over a heavyweight, this time Eddie Chambers, who thought he could solve the 6-foot-6 Ukrainian, said he's cleared September for a bout, and that negotiations with Haye's people began Tuesday.
Haye, coming off an impressive dismantling of former champ John Ruiz, is a brash, charismatic Brit who would help liven up a division that has gone dormant during the string of Klitschko dominance.
Klitschko said he's willing to fight Haye anywhere -- Wembley Stadium or somewhere in Haye's mother country would be compelling -- and expressed willingness to embrace what he called his own "signature fight."
"I care about the sport, the fan base, the heavyweight division," Klitschko said. "To be heavyweight champion used to be the most impoortant title in the world. I don't care where we fight. I just want David Haye in front of my face. No obligations can stop him from making this fight."
Money always interferes, but Klitschko assures "there's plenty for both of us ... there's a time to talk, and a time to deliver. He's called me out. I'm holding him responsible for his actions."
Klitschko, chatting over a lunch of a chicken salad and cranberry juice, said he opted to become more vocal because"people start to believe the things this person is saying. I decided I need to get over my conservative style of handling things and bring out my real opinions. I had enough. We don't need promoters. I'm managing myself. I want this fight."
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
Odlanier Solis-Nikolay Valuev Talks Begin -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
The promoters of Cuban-born, former Olympic gold medalist, Odlanier Solis (pictured at left, throwing punch), and former WBA heavyweight champion, Nikolay Valuev, of Russia, are in talks to set up an eliminator bout that has been ordered by the WBC.
The winner would be the mandatory challenger for WBC champion, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 knockouts), of the Ukraine.
"This is a great honor for Odlanier and [Arena Promotions]. To become the [WBC's] no. 1 contender with only 16 pro fights means something," said Ahmet Öner, Solis' promoter with Arena Promotions. "Odlanier has been an amateur standout and also proved his extraordinary qualities since turning pro in 2007."
Long range goals for Solis are either Vitali Klitschko or his brother, Wladimir, who owns the WBO, IBF and IBO crowns.
"I am convinced that he is the only serious threat to the Klitschko brothers today," said Ohner, "and I hope that he will get the chance to prove me right very soon."
The 29-year-old Solis is coming off of last month's third-round knockout over Costa Rica's 35-year-old Carl Davis Drummond (26-3, 20 KOs), earning his 12th knockout, and, his sixth consecutive stoppage to improve to 16-0.
A two-time titlist, the 36-year-old Valuev (50-2, 34 knockouts) is coming off of November's 12-round, unanimous decision loss to England's David Haye (24-1, 22 KOs), who dethroned him as champion.
Ohner and Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, who handle Solis, and Don King and Sauerland Promotions, who deal with Valuev, have until April 30 to make the fight and avoid a purse bid.
"I talked to King. King called me about that fight with Solis and Valuev, and I told him that we're ready to make the deal," said Arum. "And he has a partner, Sauerland Promotions, and, hopefully, we'll be able to get something done this week if Valuev is going to go ahead go into this eliminator."
The eliminator is desired by Solis' manager, Tony Gonzalez.
"A box-offf between Solis and Valuev, that's probably the route we'll wind up taking. That's really Ahmet and Bob's job to do," said Gonzalez. "They've got to pretty much square away whatever deal they can put together, and then, if not, then it goes to purse bids. At that point, we know the routine. So, whoever wins the purse bid is the one who takes the fight."
Valuev-Solis would be a match up of two, massive fighters, with Valuev having been the largest heavyweight champion in the sport's history.
The seven-foot Valuev weighed 316 pounds for his last bout, with the nearly 6-foot-2 Solis tipping the scales at 269.
"I am sure that this fight will be an epic battle. The whole world will watch when those two tanks collide in the ring," said Oner. "Solis is bringing the excitement back to the heavyweight division. He will end the Klitschko's reign and on the way there, hopefully, become the first man to knock out the Russian giant."
Whether the fight would take place in America or Germany remains to be seen.
"The Klitschkos have a lot of name both in Europe and over here," said Gonzalez, "But if the American television, HBO, or Showtime hasn't shown too much interest in the Klitschkos, why would they show more interest in a Valuev-Solis fight than the would a Wladimir Klitschko-Eddie Chambers?"
Gonzalez was referring to the fact that Klitschko's recent 12th-round stoppage of Chambers was not televised in America, even as it was a big hit in Europe, and, particularly, the sold out, ESPRIT Arena, in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany where the fight took place.
Valuev and Solis have some loyalty in Germany as well, the latter, having fought many of his early bouts there.
"Valuev and Solis have built followings in Germany," said Gonzalez. "So all logic and reasoning lean toward the fight being in Germany, but crazier things have happened in our sport."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
The promoters of Cuban-born, former Olympic gold medalist, Odlanier Solis (pictured at left, throwing punch), and former WBA heavyweight champion, Nikolay Valuev, of Russia, are in talks to set up an eliminator bout that has been ordered by the WBC.
The winner would be the mandatory challenger for WBC champion, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 knockouts), of the Ukraine.
"This is a great honor for Odlanier and [Arena Promotions]. To become the [WBC's] no. 1 contender with only 16 pro fights means something," said Ahmet Öner, Solis' promoter with Arena Promotions. "Odlanier has been an amateur standout and also proved his extraordinary qualities since turning pro in 2007."
Long range goals for Solis are either Vitali Klitschko or his brother, Wladimir, who owns the WBO, IBF and IBO crowns.
"I am convinced that he is the only serious threat to the Klitschko brothers today," said Ohner, "and I hope that he will get the chance to prove me right very soon."
The 29-year-old Solis is coming off of last month's third-round knockout over Costa Rica's 35-year-old Carl Davis Drummond (26-3, 20 KOs), earning his 12th knockout, and, his sixth consecutive stoppage to improve to 16-0.
A two-time titlist, the 36-year-old Valuev (50-2, 34 knockouts) is coming off of November's 12-round, unanimous decision loss to England's David Haye (24-1, 22 KOs), who dethroned him as champion.
Ohner and Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, who handle Solis, and Don King and Sauerland Promotions, who deal with Valuev, have until April 30 to make the fight and avoid a purse bid.
"I talked to King. King called me about that fight with Solis and Valuev, and I told him that we're ready to make the deal," said Arum. "And he has a partner, Sauerland Promotions, and, hopefully, we'll be able to get something done this week if Valuev is going to go ahead go into this eliminator."
The eliminator is desired by Solis' manager, Tony Gonzalez.
"A box-offf between Solis and Valuev, that's probably the route we'll wind up taking. That's really Ahmet and Bob's job to do," said Gonzalez. "They've got to pretty much square away whatever deal they can put together, and then, if not, then it goes to purse bids. At that point, we know the routine. So, whoever wins the purse bid is the one who takes the fight."
Valuev-Solis would be a match up of two, massive fighters, with Valuev having been the largest heavyweight champion in the sport's history.
The seven-foot Valuev weighed 316 pounds for his last bout, with the nearly 6-foot-2 Solis tipping the scales at 269.
"I am sure that this fight will be an epic battle. The whole world will watch when those two tanks collide in the ring," said Oner. "Solis is bringing the excitement back to the heavyweight division. He will end the Klitschko's reign and on the way there, hopefully, become the first man to knock out the Russian giant."
Whether the fight would take place in America or Germany remains to be seen.
"The Klitschkos have a lot of name both in Europe and over here," said Gonzalez, "But if the American television, HBO, or Showtime hasn't shown too much interest in the Klitschkos, why would they show more interest in a Valuev-Solis fight than the would a Wladimir Klitschko-Eddie Chambers?"
Gonzalez was referring to the fact that Klitschko's recent 12th-round stoppage of Chambers was not televised in America, even as it was a big hit in Europe, and, particularly, the sold out, ESPRIT Arena, in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany where the fight took place.
Valuev and Solis have some loyalty in Germany as well, the latter, having fought many of his early bouts there.
"Valuev and Solis have built followings in Germany," said Gonzalez. "So all logic and reasoning lean toward the fight being in Germany, but crazier things have happened in our sport."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Siaca to enter world of hurt against Green -- Sydney Morning Herald
By JAMIE PANDARAM, The Sydney Morning Herald
DANNY GREEN talked of his fight against Manny Siaca going the 12 rounds yesterday, but his hands tonight will likely be speaking a different language.
The mismatch in power and aggression puts Siaca at a great disadvantage, never mind his talk about dodgy home town decisions.
Green is riding the second wind of his career. Having retired for 14 months in 2008, he has returned fresher and sharper.
Green can see himself hurting Siaca at every turn. Conversely, Siaca must envisage an unlikely series of miscalculation and mistakes by Green to land the flooring blow that no other opponent has managed in the Australian's previous 31 bouts.
Siaca possesses a lengthy jab and looping right hand that has made it difficult for his opponents to get set at a comfortable distance, but he does not respond well to power.
As he showed in his seven-round loss to Mikkel Kessler, Siaca has a sturdy front-on defence but can be caught with a right hook.
Green dropped Roy Jones jnr with the right hook. Siaca may have prepared well to combat Green's hooks but like any fighter, he will revert to type when hurt. Green's aim will be to rough up the Puerto Rican early and claim the ring like a bully.
Green wants Siaca in the corners. Against Anthony Mundine, Siaca proved to be a wily customer, but he was allowed to move freely because Mundine is a stick-and-move artist. Green is less subtle.
Facing Green at cruiserweight, Siaca will be planning to test the body, a tactic that brought Markus Beyer success against Green in their super-middleweight world title rematch. Siaca is the taller man but must first play lumberjack to open Green's defence, and a rib assault is his best way of executing the two money shots against a heavy banger; the uppercut, and the overhand.
Siaca boasted of stopping Green inside two rounds, but that means he must be willing to stand and trade with the most powerful fighter he has faced. ''I don't anticipate this fight being stopped early, Manny might have other plans,'' Green said.
''I've practised for a 12-round fight for different styles. We've got a Manny for all occasions. If he goes on the back foot, if he wants to counter-punch, if he wants to come forward and be aggressive, we are ready to counter what he's going to bring.''
Green, 37, insists he has not overlooked Siaca, who has become a journeyman since his 2004 defeat of Mundine. ''I'm not really fussed with what the bookies and the people say is favourite and who's the underdog,'' Green said. ''I'm taking this as a very hard fight. I know it's going to be difficult because technically he's a gifted fighter and he's a proud guy, too.
''My job is to break this man down, my job is to defeat him, my job is to destroy him, that's his job, too.''
Because of bickering with his management, Siaca has been fairly inactive in the past five years. He has moved up and down in weight classes, which will hurt him.
Fighters can rarely be at their physical peak condition when the body is put through the trauma of losing and gaining weight rapidly, over and over.
Green is comfortable at cruiserweight, his speed has followed and his strength has grown.
When he returned from retirement, he wished for a fight against Jones jnr. Now that he has his scalp, he has bigger fish to fry than Siaca. This is an entree in anyone's language.
Source: smh.com.au
DANNY GREEN talked of his fight against Manny Siaca going the 12 rounds yesterday, but his hands tonight will likely be speaking a different language.
The mismatch in power and aggression puts Siaca at a great disadvantage, never mind his talk about dodgy home town decisions.
Green is riding the second wind of his career. Having retired for 14 months in 2008, he has returned fresher and sharper.
Green can see himself hurting Siaca at every turn. Conversely, Siaca must envisage an unlikely series of miscalculation and mistakes by Green to land the flooring blow that no other opponent has managed in the Australian's previous 31 bouts.
Siaca possesses a lengthy jab and looping right hand that has made it difficult for his opponents to get set at a comfortable distance, but he does not respond well to power.
As he showed in his seven-round loss to Mikkel Kessler, Siaca has a sturdy front-on defence but can be caught with a right hook.
Green dropped Roy Jones jnr with the right hook. Siaca may have prepared well to combat Green's hooks but like any fighter, he will revert to type when hurt. Green's aim will be to rough up the Puerto Rican early and claim the ring like a bully.
Green wants Siaca in the corners. Against Anthony Mundine, Siaca proved to be a wily customer, but he was allowed to move freely because Mundine is a stick-and-move artist. Green is less subtle.
Facing Green at cruiserweight, Siaca will be planning to test the body, a tactic that brought Markus Beyer success against Green in their super-middleweight world title rematch. Siaca is the taller man but must first play lumberjack to open Green's defence, and a rib assault is his best way of executing the two money shots against a heavy banger; the uppercut, and the overhand.
Siaca boasted of stopping Green inside two rounds, but that means he must be willing to stand and trade with the most powerful fighter he has faced. ''I don't anticipate this fight being stopped early, Manny might have other plans,'' Green said.
''I've practised for a 12-round fight for different styles. We've got a Manny for all occasions. If he goes on the back foot, if he wants to counter-punch, if he wants to come forward and be aggressive, we are ready to counter what he's going to bring.''
Green, 37, insists he has not overlooked Siaca, who has become a journeyman since his 2004 defeat of Mundine. ''I'm not really fussed with what the bookies and the people say is favourite and who's the underdog,'' Green said. ''I'm taking this as a very hard fight. I know it's going to be difficult because technically he's a gifted fighter and he's a proud guy, too.
''My job is to break this man down, my job is to defeat him, my job is to destroy him, that's his job, too.''
Because of bickering with his management, Siaca has been fairly inactive in the past five years. He has moved up and down in weight classes, which will hurt him.
Fighters can rarely be at their physical peak condition when the body is put through the trauma of losing and gaining weight rapidly, over and over.
Green is comfortable at cruiserweight, his speed has followed and his strength has grown.
When he returned from retirement, he wished for a fight against Jones jnr. Now that he has his scalp, he has bigger fish to fry than Siaca. This is an entree in anyone's language.
Source: smh.com.au
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